The present invention relates to a multicolor printing press capable of rotating selectively in normal and reverse directions, and more particularly to a multicolor rotary printing press having improved ink supply means respectively for two through four plate cylinders in the printing press.
Ink is required to be supplied as a layer of a few microns to a plate cylinder. To meet this requirement, a plurality of rollers (more than ten, for example) have heretofore been interposed between a plate cylinder and an ink pan for successively thinning the ink layer as it goes through the rollers until the ink layer will finally be of the above desired thickness on the plate cylinder. The group of inking rollers needs to be provided in four sets for printing in four colors, and the roller sets should be spaced apart from each other to avoid the mixing of ink mists of different colors dispelled from the inking roller groups. Therefore, these inking roller groups take up a relatively large space in the multicolor rotary printing press, making the overall press structure large in size and reducing a space available for the installation of other printing units. This has increased the cost of manufacture of the printing press. The ink mists expelled from the inking rollers tend to smear surrounding parts. In operation, the roller groups generate a great amount of noise and vibration. Accordingly, there has been a demand for improving the conventional arrangement to provide a better working environment.